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TOYING AROUND: SDCC Exclusives, Doctor Doom and More!

Summer’s finally here, so you know what that means: convention season is officially in full effect. With the grand geek ball known as Comic-Con International: San Diego less than a month away, many of the convention’s exclusive offerings have been revealed, but there were still a few more unveiled this week. In addition to a Sideshow Collectibles Doctor Doom statue, a variety of Diamond Select Toys MiniMates and even a “Dark Knight Rises” Bat shared the spotlight with a variety of other new offerings.

KOTOBUKIYA SDCC EXCLUSIVE | Kotobukiya went all the way back to 1939’s “Detective Comics” #27 for their SDCC exclusive Batman piece called First Appearance Batman by Bob Kane. The 1/10th scale statue looks like he hopped right off of the comics page, but the real question is whether he has purple gloves hidden under that cape.

FUNKO SDCC EXCLUSIVES | Funko clearly ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Just look at all the Pop Vinyl “Ghostbusters” SDCC exclusives they have lined up for this year! In addition to the metallic slimed Dr. Peter Venkman and Slimer 2-pack, the company will also sell a marshmallow-covered 4-pack of all the ‘Busters, a 6-inch glow-in-the-dark Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and a glow-in-the-dark Slimer. As if all that wasn’t enough, the ReAction line goes even more retro with a black-and-white painted version of The Rocketeer!

BLUEFIN TAMASHII NATIONS SDCC EXCLUSIVES | The SDCC exclusive reveals just keep on coming. Bluefin Tamashii Nations got in on the action by showing off a pair of theirs. San Diego attendees will be able to get their hands on a Vegeta from “Dragon Ball Z” repainted to look as he did when he first appeared in the manga in his green, orange and blue suit. Meanwhile, the Black Ranger gets an armored upgraded with their “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” exclusive based on the season one finale, “An Oyster Stew.” Both come with a variety of extra parts, hands and accessories.

DOCTOR DOOM | Behold the glory that is Doom! Sideshow Collectibles did right by the Latverian ruler with this 23.5 inch tall polystone Premium Format Figure which comes with cloth cape and tunic. The Sideshow exclusive version comes with a swap-out right hand holding a ray gun. The epic Doctor Doom statue can be pre-ordered now and ships in May.

THE WALKING DEAD | Some people have a problem with statues and busts because they just sit there and don’t do much. Well, Diamond Select Toys has come up with some useable versions of “The Walking Dead” zombies that are both cool looking and functional. Michonne’s second pet zombie will debut as a vinyl bank to keep your money safe while the Michonne’s Sword Letter Opener Set comes safely ensconced in a zombie head so you’ll always know where to find it!

THE AVENGERS | Back in 2012, Marvel relaunched many of their characters with an initiative called Marvel NOW! That meant new books for some and whole new looks for others, including Iron Man. The black and gold armor is now making its way into Kotobukiya’s line of ARTFX+ NOW!-based Avengers statues designed by Adi Granov. The Armored Avenger here joins Black Widow, Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Hawkeye. He ships in December, but can be pre-ordered now.

MARVEL LEGENDS | Speaking of exclusives, Hasbro made an interesting announcement this week that was covered by the gang over at Robot 6. The Marvel Legends Infinite Series version of Agent Venom showed off at last year’s SDCC will actually be a Walgreens exclusive with more details to come at this year’s convention.

SIN CITY | Master designer toy maker Eric So is bringing his talents to Sin City and Dark Horse Deluxe. The first vinyl piece from this collaboration features Basin City’s number one son Marv all bandaged up. The Hong Kong artist’s figure stands 13 inches tall and does Frank Miller’s creation justice in a completely different style. Marv is limited to 950 pieces and hits on August 13.

MINIMATES | With their latest batch of solicits, Diamond Select unveiled a trio of upcoming MiniMates sets for fans of all varieties. They’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s “Alien” with a 4-pack consisting of Ripley, Kane, Parker, the Big Chap alien as well as a facehugger and Jonesy, the cat. Meanwhile, ’90s X-fans can look forward to the upcoming Classic X-Force box that includes pouch-loving versions of Shatterstar, Cable, Domino and Cannonball. Finally, DST is mixing it up with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‘Mates by offering them in a blind-bagged format. Grab one and you might get Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Shredder, April, a Foot Soldier, a Footbot and a one-per-case translucent Michelangelo.

DOCTOR WHO | Big Chief Studios continues to roll out high quality, 1:6 scale figures based on “Doctor Who” to celebrate the franchise’s 50 years of existence. The most recent Limited Edition Collector Figure put up for pre-order was none other than the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant that comes with a wardrobe of clothes, his Sonic Screwdriver and a variety of other appendages, accessories and glasses. The limited-to-1000 run has already sold out on Big Chief’s website, but look for some to pop up in the secondary market as they ship.

DOCTOR WHO | If a tiny Sonic Screwdriver coming with an action figure isn’t enough for you, Rubbertoe Replicas has a full-sized version ready to zap. Based on the actual prop used in “Doctor Who,” the Eleventh Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver comes with LED lights and sounds. Meanwhile, Rubbertoe also has a pair of Sonic Screwdriver displays so you can show off your collection. There’s one for the more modern offerings and one for vintage ones.

MEN IN BLACK | When it comes to protecting the world from intergalactic threats, no one does it better than the Men in Black. The film’s stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones get the 1:4 scale statue treatment thanks to Hollywood Collectibles Group. Agents J and K both stand 20 inches tall and come with weapons at the ready. The HCG exclusives come with Agent F and Wormguy, respectively. All four pieces can also be purchased as a set. They ship this fall.

DC UNIVERSE | Have you ever wondered what goes into making some of your favorite action figures? DC Collectibles put together this handy infographic that takes you through the process from concept sketches to packaging!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS | Finally, Mattycollector opened the floor up for Club Eternia subscriptions. This membership not only nets you every available Masters of the Universe Classics figure, but also a club-exclusive. As an added bonus, if you sign up for the former before July 25, you’ll score a free stand set. Subscriptions can be purchased between now and August 18.